Review: Her Father's Secret by Sara Blaedel

Her Father's Secret was a slow burning mystery with many family secrets to be uncovered, and a few surprise plot twists along the way.

The author built the suspense nicely, and the hidden facts about Ilka's family that were being exposed had me eager to find out how everything was going to tie up and come together. Unfortunately, the end results were somewhat anticlimactic. Certain things were worked out or explained, but something was still missing for me.

It concluded with a cliffhanger, and that normally doesn't bother me, but the story cut off at an odd place. I felt like too little was resolved and too many ends were left loose, and what should have been a shocking or impactful closing line, fell flat.

In the end, this was an okay read, but I don't find myself in a hurry to get the next book. Going into this novel, I didn't realize that it was a series continuation. I didn't read book one, and I do wish I had because maybe I would have enjoyed certain aspects more.

If you choose to read Her Father's Secret, I strongly advise reading The Undertaker's Daughter (alternate title- The Daughter) first.

**Complimentary copy for review provided by Hachette Book Group Canada and Grand Central Publishing. All opinions expressed here are honest and entirely my own.**

Below I've posted the plot summary (as found on Goodreads) but if you'd like any more information about this novel, The Family Secrets Series, or the author, visit Sara Blaedel's web page here.

P L O T :

A woman's murder is only the beginning as a daughter races to unravel the maze of secrets her father left behind--before she becomes the next victim--in the latest emotionally gripping novel from Sara Blaedel, #1 internationally bestselling author with over 3 million copies sold worldwide.

After suddenly inheriting a funeral home from her father--who she hadn't heard from in decades--Ilka Jensen has impulsively abandoned her quiet life in Denmark to visit the small town in rural Wisconsin where her father lived. There, she's devastated to discover her father's second family: a stepmother and two half sisters she never knew existed. And who aren't the least bit welcoming, despite Ilka's efforts to reach out.

Then a local woman is killed, seemingly the unfortunate victim of a home invasion turned violent. But when Ilka learns that the woman knew her father, it becomes increasingly clear that she may not have been a completely random victim after all. The more Ilka digs into her father's past, the more deeply entangled she becomes in a family drama that has spanned decades and claimed more than one life--and she may be the next victim...